At Media Day, Smith concluded by saying “we feel like we’re Chicago’s team.” He knew the implications of his words, as NU typically bills itself that way.

“We realize there’s two teams in our state and both claim that we’re Chicago’s team,” Smith said. “We have a lot of alumni here in Chicago, quite a few fans here, but Pat Fitzgerald has done a great job with the program and they’re a team that we need to beat, it’s as simple as that.”

Tate doesn’t feel Delany’s Big Ten will ever catch the SEC in football. But the Big Ten puts forth a valid claim as the best mix of academics and athletics. Delany has led the charge to make it happen with bold and balanced moves.

“In a perfect world, my desire — and I think Kirk would also concur — is to have him finish his career at Iowa. That’s the goal,” Barta said. “He’s proven that he loves Iowa. He’s proven that he can win at Iowa.”

“I thought we were coaching over their heads at times over the last couple years,” said Hazell, whose previous coordinator and QB coach was NFL-bred John Shoop. “I thought we needed to coach to them, which has helped us a lot.”

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Michigan State is establishing a scholarship fund in honor of Mike Sadler.

Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer

About Tom Dienhart: BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, and send him questions to his weekly mailbag.